Hi,
How do you explain microtiming in music theory?
What do the numbers and increments on the microtiming menu represent? I want to sequence better grooves on the go and not always experiment until it isn’t an awkward sounding groove.
For example “if the event, in this case the flush-kick, starts on the first step of the sequence, then any flush-kick placement not exactly on (or very near to) the 6th, 24th, or the 30th step will sound awkward.” It’s referring to a one bar measure.
I’ve always used to think in 16th notes as steps. How many steps actually are there in a bar?
How do i program these events on said 6th,24th,30th steps? I don’t get it, can someone explain to a dummy?
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The Elektron box sequencers are broken into 4 pages of 16 steps. A pattern can be anywhere from 1 to 4 in length (each page being a bar). The 16 steps would be 16th notes. The microtiming would offset from each individual step by an increment set by holding the step down in STEP EDIT mode and then using the LEFT/RIGHT arrows to shift the step. If you are using a 1 bar pattern, you’ll only have 16 whole steps. If you want to put something on steps 24, 30, or up to 64, you would need to create a pattern that is more than 1 bar. You can also speed up or slow down the pattern relative to the rest of the patterns by using the multiplier in the PAGE menu. This will, however, make each step a different multiple or divisor of the base step/beat (if you slow the track down by 1/2, then each step is actually 2 steps long). Regardless of timing, you will only ever have up to 64 individual steps per track/pattern (disregarding ratcheting/retrig).
Does that help?
That’s left up to you. But, it’s pretty convenient to think of a bar as 16 1/16th notes in 4/4 time, or one page.
But if you’re talking about 30th step, then maybe you mean 30 out of 32 in one bar of 4/4 or maybe you mean the 14th step of the 2nd bar of 2 bars of 4/4 . Either way, you’ll need two pages to get 32 steps.
Maybe say more about what you want in terms of bars ?
…dude, u need some som serious lessons of rhythm basics…
and ur starting at the wrong end, if u think the kik could need some microtiming shifts…
for now, see it as the anker, everthing else needs to relate to…
the tension between the single elements and how they relate to each other, with each other… MAKE THE GROOVE…
so don’t get lost right at the start, tryin’ way too hard to give the kik already some feel…
do some math, or better, open up to feel it…
the 16th grid is nothing but a multiplier of 8th notes…while 32th is nothing but that the other way around…
and any triplet signatures are nothing but dividers of all that…
four to the floor…the most basic stomper to find…means nothing but every 4th note hits…
if that job is done by a kik…u got already half the way to basic techno…
that’s no groove…that’s a fundament…groove starts once u start setting counter points in relation to that…and hell yeah, a sligtly laid back or slightly pushed forward snare/clap, or simply set straight, is where groove starts…
so leave the boom (kik) untouched for now and focus on the tschakks (snare/clap) and the glueing shizzels (hats)…where all microtiming, all sorts of shuffle and swing start to breathe…
have a look at this one…it will open ur eyes and ears what most static, absolute microtiming free, simple settings and countings can do to GROOVE…
and always keep in mind…ur 16 klak klaks buttons u got there in front of u, are exactly the representation of each slot u gonna see on these midi grids…
for some reason that link shows up in the preview, but once posted it states unavailable…
hmmmm…go to utube and search for…5 rhythms that changed my life…it will change urs for sure… 
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No need to patronize him, dude.
And you are in most musical cases wrong when saying kick drums don’t need microtiming
In fact not all kicks HAVE to be on quantized grid, maybe only the ONE needs that, for an obvious relative reference.
If you look at making tight-like-a
-crab’s ass four-on the floor techno you are absolutely right, but look at any beat outside techno and you will soon réalise that not all kick drums fall on the grid. Especially #2 and 4 in a 4/4 time signature.
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If you want Groove, you can also try the Swing.
From the manual p.37 :
10.10.5 SWING
Adjust the swing setting of the pattern, to employ a propulsive, rhythmic groove. Press [TEMPO] to access this menu.
Turn DATA ENTRY knob E to set the SWING ratio to 51-80%. The default setting is equal spacing, 50%.
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kind of deserved the comment
However there’s a small element of truth there. What we all respond to in music (music makers and listeners, even if the listeners don’t know it) is the patterns of accents and emphasis that music makers call bars, and not steps. Until we know what @mezgll meant in terms of bars, then it’s pretty hard to understand what role steps 6, 24, 30 are playing in his music. Which is why I said
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I’m guessing that for you, already thinking of 16th notes as your basic unit, and most likely working in 4/4 time (maybe, not guaranteed of course) that a bar is 16 1/16th notes. Same as an Elektron page therefore.
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I love the concept of microtiming but I’ll admit it’s very difficult for me to find a true groove and not just some wonky “broken beat” junk.
Rhythm lessons welcomed here
Alright, so i got confused from the 6th,24th,30th step kick idea since i’m used to think in 16ths.
Turns out the bar used in this example is divided into 48 steps and therefore, on the Digitakt sequencer, the 6th falls on 2, the 24th on 9 and 30th step - on 11. So that’s that.
I understand the role of a kickdrum and that it’s the anchor of the groove and not the groove itself.
But is it not a groove that’s forming when you add the off kick to the static flush kick pattern?
I often tend to move the kick (not just snare) events one or two microtiming increments away from the on grid position to loosen or tighten up the feel. I’m not trying to produce edm, i make hip hop and know it’s a common practice to shift the events.
What i don’t understand is what 1/64, 1/128, 1/24 in the microtime menu on the Digitakt actually stand for? And is there a more straight forward way i could use the microtiming and not have to experiment with it as much when trying to program off-kicks, off snare hits and hihats? Thanks
From end-to-end, that scale represent (very nearly) from: same time as previous note, to: same time as next note. The calibration assumes that your steps are 1/16th note and so 1/32 is halfway to the next (or previous) note, and 23/384 (end of the scale) is very nearly 24/384 (= 1/16 ) or all the way to the next or previous note.
Ooops … I’m talking model:samples here, but I’m assuming digitakt is the same scale.
BTW, have you seen this: (kind of relevant) Microtiming offset to mimic swing percentage?
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Perhaps you could just live-record your performance instead of manually programming it? I don’t know if you can live record on Digitakt but on M:S there are pads to capture unquantized performances. Seems like the way to go for Hip-Hop, no? A-la- J Dilla?
And when adjusting microtiming maybe just close your eyes and not worry about all the numbers on the screen?
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check this out, take note of what is being nudged, how it’s being nudged, and what is not being nudged.
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…sorry if it sounded “patronizing”…was not intended…
and i never said that a kik needs no nudging ever…just stated that it’s a bad place to start with all that, specially given the fact that he’s talking about the very first kik in a one bar pattern…
while all the other elements in any rhythmical pattern have simply way more effect on overall groove perception…especially in broken ones like hip hop…
and speaking of one bar patterns…that’s in most cases a too close repetition circle for hiphop, right from the get go…
and keep in mind, if u wanna reproduce those daw grid examples, u’ll need to double takts overall grid resolution…by doubling the inner pattern speed or by doubling the overall bpm and get into the halftime concept…so ur 16 klak klaks become a 32 note grid each…